OLDaily

Welcome to Online Learning Daily, your best source for news and commentary about learning technology, new media, and related topics.

What does it mean to build a new social contract for education? An invitation to think, act and write!
Elena Toukan, NORRAG -, 2023/01/06

---

We learn though this article that "UNESCO is inviting researchers, educators, and practitioners to contribute 1000-2000 word think-pieces that explore, from different perspectives, the governance imperatives of a new social contract for education." Elena Toukan here argues that "the socio-political agreement at the heart of education systems requires reimagination, to probe why, how and for what purpose education is organized." The article argues for "principles of a new social contract for education that sees education as a human right and a common good, reflecting a wide diversity of ways of knowing." These are in contrast to the idea of "generating a productive workforce and rallying national identity" and "neoliberal trends in education that elevated the human capital rationale of educational investment." One wonders, do we need to agree with this perspective in our submissions? Must our view be "characterized by cooperation and solidarity, concerned with widespread participation and the establishment of trust, and committed to justice in all of its aspects?" Or is there another frame that might capture a more global perspective?

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

How to Read a Book: The Ultimate Guide by Mortimer Adler
Farnam Street, 2023/01/06

---

This is one of several items picked up today from Mike Taylor's excellent weekly newsletter. It summarizes Mortimer Adler's seminal How to Read a Book. The irony is that the people who need this advice won't be able to extract it from the book in which it is contained. This article is a case in point; the description of 'inspectional reading' only lists the four questions a reader should ask, and completely elides the actual process, which includes (for Adler) things like underlining or writing in the margins, as well as three types of note-taking: structural, conceptual and dialectical.  Here's an example of how I take notes, at least at the structural level. Here is an example of my notes at the conceptual level, merging many sources.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

Wishes and Worries for 2023: What Ed Tech Leaders Are Thinking About -- THE Journal
Kristal Kuykendall, THE Journal, 2023/01/06

---

What I found as interesting as the comments was the selection of who counts as 'Ed Tech Leaders' in this article. For the most part, they are technology CEOs or directors. There's almost no representation from institutions and none from outside the commercial sector. I kept thinking of Audrey Watters being inundated with this sort of stuff in her work, and seeing no real education in ed tech. Anyhow, "Cybersecurity and teacher resources were the most common topics addressed in the responses - many of which include specific ideas for new policies and practices for K-12 education." Cybersecurity, because that's every tech company's nightmare. And resources, so people can buy their stuff.

Web: [Direct Link] [This Post]

We publish six to eight or so short posts every weekday linking to the best, most interesting and most important pieces of content in the field. Read more about what we cover. We also list papers and articles by Stephen Downes and his presentations from around the world.

There are many ways to read OLDaily; pick whatever works best for you:

• Read in your web browser on this web page, updated weekdays
• Receive a daily or weekly email newsletter by subscribing here
• Subscribe to the RSS feed using your favourite feed reader
• Follow @OLDaily@mastodon.social on Mastodon or elsewhere in the fediverse
• Follow @OLDaily on Twitter
• Integrate the open API using the JSON feed